If Bethenny Frankel is as excited about NeNe Leakes’ return to Bravo as she claims, she certainly has a unique way of showing it.
The “Real Housewives of New York City” alum took to Instagram on Friday to give a “shady” reaction to Leakes’ long-awaited return to the network in the series “Real Housewives: The Ultimate Road Trip,” a special series commemorating the series’ 20th anniversary.
Frankel claimed at the beginning of the video that Leakes was “very happy” and “excited,” but then went on to say that Leakes may return to Bravo due to financial hardship and to maintain her social status.
The Skinny Girl founder then sought to take credit for the road trip show, claiming he had pitched a similar series to Bravo producers that would revolve solely around him and Leakes, 58, “traveling across the country in an RV.”
Frankel, 55, claimed her pitch was shot down because producers told her she would “never be touched” by a project involving the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” alum because she was “toxic with kryptonite.”
She declined to say when she pitched the idea, but claims she “has all the receipts.”
In his lengthy rant, Frankel also made sure to bring up the “interesting dynamic” in which he expects Leakes to work with the network again after filing a lawsuit against Bravo and Andy Cohen in 2022.
“I’ve never heard of a story in history where someone went after a company and took legal action against various accusations, and then that company rehired them. It’s just an interesting dynamic. I don’t know if there are other examples like that.”
In the lawsuit, Leakes, who left RHOA in September 2020, accused them of “fostering a corporate and workplace culture in which racially insensitive and inappropriate behavior is tolerated, if not tolerated.”
However, after four months of “negotiations” between the parties, Leakes moved to dismiss the case “without prejudice”, allowing him to reopen the case at a later date.
“I think it’s a positive thing in that no bridges were burned, because they’re doing this show with NeNe on the same concept, but this is a different group of people, and my show was just about her and me,” Frankel said.
“But you guys love my tea, so please think twice,” Frankel concluded, congratulating Leakes again.
However, fans in the comments section weren’t interested in Frankel’s views and begged him to “move on.”
“That’s the most insidious compliment I’ve ever seen,” one person wrote.
“I have literally never seen anyone talk about their former employer more than this woman. Please move on,” added another.
Other Bravo fans pointed to the fact that a road trip show with Leakes and “RHOA” alum Kim Zolciak was already being planned 11 years ago, and pointed out that they didn’t believe Frankel came up with the idea.
While Mr. Leakes and Mr. Cohen were able to reconcile after she publicly criticized him, it is notable that Mr. Frankel and Mr. Cohen were unable to do the same after her “Reality Clearance” campaign that sought to expose Mr. Bravo and Mr. Cohen.
Cohen and Frankel’s feud continues to rage years later, with the host of the show “Watch What Happens Live” calling her a “margarita lady” and criticizing her “stuffy” social media videos.
A representative for Leakes did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
